News

Not-for-profit framework provider, Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) has announced the expansion of its free-of-charge call off service in response to feedback received from public sector organisations. The service has proven to be a valuable resource with £5 million worth of projects already procured under the service.

The call off service simplifies the procurement process for organisations, acting as an extension of their team, to run call off mini competitions, whilst offering best practice guidance and support throughout the process. Through close collaboration, SPA will develop the documentation, run the mini competition, draft award letters, publish award notices and handle the administrative tasks associated with calling off from a framework.

The service is flexible in its approach, organisations can choose to perform elements of the process themselves or allow SPA to manage the entire process with direction from the organisation. Offering this level of flexibility allows organisations of all sizes to utilise the service as it caters to the needs of each organisation providing a solution that matches changing demands.  

From today (20/04), the call off service will be available on 12 frameworks and its whole house refurbishment dynamic purchasing system. This extension will allow additional projects to be procured giving more choice and accessibility across a vast range of works and services.

Using the call off service provides public sector organisations with more time and resources that can be applied to progressing larger, more complex projects. As a procurement solutions provider backed by over 50 years of technical procurement expertise locally and nationally, it makes sense for organisations to utilise this free-to-use service as they can be confident that all processes will be performed compliantly and in line with the partners internal governance requirements.

Speaking about the call off service, Lesley Anderson, interim regional director at Scottish Procurement Alliance said “The service was originally launched in December 2021 with a limited offering of six eligible frameworks, as the service has evolved, and more organisations have utilised the service to streamline their processes, after consultation with a range of partners actively using the service, it became clear that there is interest to further develop this and broaden the scope allowing for more works and services to be procured.

“The announcement today enhances the offering that is available free of charge to partners by opening the service to 12 eligible frameworks and our dynamic purchasing system. This extension will allow for a significant range of works and services to be procured by public sector buyers bestowing the time and resources saved to focus on larger more complex projects.

“It also demonstrates our commitment to implementing solutions to support partners and easing their challenges. Public sector organisations are under increasing pressure to seek greater efficiencies and cost savings in their procurement processes, the extension of this service will go some way to supporting our partners in realising these targets.”

Frameworks included in the Call Off Service are:

• Asbestos Services (AS2)
• Construction Consultancy (H1 WS1)
• Energy Efficiency Consultancy (N8C)
• Fire Safety (FS1)
• Supply of Kitchens and Associated Products (K7)
• Vacant Property Protection (V7)
• Whole House Refurbishment and Associated Works (WH2)
• Modular Buildings (MB2)
• Windows & Door PVC-U & Timber (WD2)
• Energy Efficiency Measures & Works (N8)
• Doorsets, Fire Doors & Communual Entrance Doors (C8)
• Roofing Systems & Associated Works (RS4)

Our Dynamic Purchasing System - Whole House Refurbishment and Associated Works (WH2 DPS) - is also included in the Call Off Service.